Kimberly Gloria Choi, Founder of MarchBaby Collective

Kimberley Choi’s diverse upbringing has lead her to Singapore to start her tattoo branding business, Marchbaby Collective.

What’s your story?
I’m Kimberly Gloria Choi. I was raised in the UK, Hong Kong and Singapore. I studied Fine Arts in Hong Kong, and completed a Visual Communications Degree in Singapore. Formerly a graphic designer in Sephora which is where I was inspired to start Marchbaby Collective.

What excites you most about your industry?
It is a fringe industry yet full of possibilities. Creativity and unique and that is what excites me.

What’s your connection to Asia?
Because of my multicultural background I believe there should be no boundaries. The Asian culture is definitely what inspired Marchbaby Design collections. The retail and fashion industry nowadays are social media driven, driven from the desire to become someone unique by having a lifestyle statement. Fashion is a way to expressing yourself, to create your own persona and my persona is influenced by Asia. Asia is my roots.

Favourite city in Asia for business and why?
Singapore. The government has created the best ecosystem for businesses and SMEs. The open door policy for foreign talents and expats, it is in the best location for new companies to test out each others population interests and behaviours. The Government grants available to support SMEs at the early stage to help reduce financial pressures.

What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
Do not do what the market has already done. Do something the market doesn’t have. Everyone is reusing similar ideas by creating different methods of branding and marketing. People, improvise!

Who inspires you?
There is no specific person or things that inspire me. For me every living thing and object are my inspiration.

What have you just learnt recently that blew you away?
Not recently, but I learnt a lesson from my past career industry: Nothing you see is what it is. There is a smoke and mirror screen which hides all the lies. You have to learn how to decipher what is the true facts behind everything.

If you had your time again, what would you do differently?
I would have worked harder on my social media profile and got my hands on digital marketing earlier so I would have been more confident starting my business earlier.

How do you unwind?
I paint and let my state of mind flow with the colours and brush strokes and I sink into my own world.

Everyone in business should read this book:
“Creative Confidence,” by Tom Kelley.
I believe design for business and branding should be the main key for all bosses out there. Creative thinking ties in with your business.

This interview is part of the ‘Callum Connect’ series of more than 500 interviews

Callum Laing is an entrepreneur and investor based in Singapore. He has previously started, built and sold half a dozen businesses and is now a Partner at Unity-Group Private Equity and Co-Founder of The Marketing Group PLC. He is the author two best selling books ‘Progressive Partnerships’ and ‘Agglomerate’.

Frank Meehan, Co-Founder & CEO of SmartUp.io

Frank Meehan, co-founder and CEO of SmartUp.io is making learning faster, in our rapidly changing world.

What’s your story?
I’m the co-founder and CEO of SmartUp.io. In addition, I’m a partner at SparkLabs VC and Accelerator Group (www.sparklabsgroup.com) and blockchain fund, SparkChain Capital.
I grew up in Sydney, Australia and my first job was as a software coder and troubleshooter for Ericsson Mobile. Since then, I’ve lived in Sweden, Singapore, Hong Kong and London, where I am currently, with my family.
I’m focused on delivering an excellent product and experience to our SmartUp customers and I’m interested in making learning faster and more efficient in this rapidly changing world. I’m also passionate about saving our oceans.

What excites you most about your industry?
Globally, the corporate learning and development market is worth US$320 billion, and there is a perfect storm of disruption coming in, for learning management systems.

What’s your connection to Asia?
I’ve worked in Asia since 1998. First, I worked for Ericsson in Southeast Asia and then Hutchison Whampoa, before co-founding the SparkLabs Venture and Accelerator Group.
When I co-founded SmartUp.io, I focused the business on Asia Pacific, because it’s the centre of innovation in the corporate world and it’s driven by millennial workforces wanting effective microlearning.

Favourite city in Asia for business and why?
Singapore, by a long shot! It’s great for business, it’s innovative, efficient, multicultural and well-connected to the world. The government is also very focused on up-skilling the population in AI, robotics, data and tech.

What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
Always hire people you would like to work for.

Who inspires you?
My 11-year-old son, my wife and my SmartUp team.

What have you just learnt recently that blew you away?
Each year, Coca-Cola makes 110 billion plastic bottles, that’s around 20% of all plastic bottles per annum. So, I started an online petition with some friends and convinced people to use biodegradable bottles instead.
A few weeks and many signatures later, Coca-Cola announced they were speeding up their move to biodegradable bottles. I’m not sure if the management saw our petition, but it’s nice to think we might have contributed to that move, even in a small way.

If you had your time again, what would you do differently?
I would have bought more real estate. I would have focussed more on family and friends.

How do you unwind?
I like to unwind with my son, making cool stuff with him or just doing things together. It’s the best!

Favourite Asian destination for relaxation? Why?
This is a tough one to answer because I love so many different places in Asia.

Everyone in business should read this book:
Only The Paranoid Survive by Andy Grove.

Shameless plug for your business:
Our clients are constantly marvelling at how SmartUp has transformed learning for their employees and organisations, and how we have made learning so easy and so addictive.

How can people connect with you?
E-mail me at [email protected], drop a note to my LinkedIn profile, or tweet me.
I usually keep Facebook for close friends and family, but there are loads of other ways to contact me.

This interview is part of the ‘Callum Connect’ series of more than 500 interviews

Callum Laing is an entrepreneur and investor based in Singapore. He has previously started, built and sold half a dozen businesses and is now a Partner at Unity-Group Private Equity and Co-Founder of The Marketing Group PLC. He is the author two best selling books ‘Progressive Partnerships’ and ‘Agglomerate’.

Val Senan, Founder of The Finest Man

Val Senan started the Finest Man, to help men find the girl of his dreams whilst still being true to himself.

What’s your story?
I was a regular all round nice guy who just couldn’t find love. I became frustrated because I was always being rejected and ‘friend zoned.’ I discovered a secret community of men known as ‘pick up artists.’ With their help, I was able to easily attract and seduce any woman I desired. But, after 2 years of seducing women it left me feeling cold and empty on the inside. I began a personal journey to rediscover and heal myself from the poison of being a pick up artist. Fast forward 10 years and here I am helping guys to not make the same mistakes I did.

What excites you most about your industry?
I think it’s when I see how ordinary lives are turned around overnight. It’s like a magical transformation of sorts. One moment I see a guy who’s clueless, frustrated and jaded with his dating life and after helping him out, he is happily attached to the girl of his dreams, with plans to marry her one day! That is what excites and inspires me to do what I do.

What’s your connection to Asia?
I’ve grown up and lived in Singapore all my life. I’ve been around Southeast Asia as well and I see it as home now.

Favourite city in Asia for business and why?
Business wise, I’d say Singapore. Mainly because I’ve successfully been able to run a couple of businesses here. Also, the very efficient systems help, as does the Singapore government, which supports and protects local business owners.

What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
Don’t be afraid of failure, instead embrace it, fail often and fail quick because that’s the fastest way to succeed.

Who inspires you?
A lot of the entrepreneurs who started with almost nothing and then worked their way up to create massive empires for themselves. People like Vishen Lakhiani, Richard Branson, Daymond John and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson are a few who inspire me.
The one person who really ignites a fire within me and inspires me is my uncle. He had close to nothing when he started out, but he has created an empire in Southeast Asia. Seeing his transformation in person, has filled me with hope and inspiration.

What have you just learnt recently that blew you away?
An emotionally charged and engaging way to present an idea to someone. It’s basically how you tell a story that resonates deeply with the person which then inspires them to take some kind of action. I knew stories were powerful, I just didn’t know how powerful until I learnt to use them in my own business and daily life.

If you had your time again, what would you do differently?
Find the right kind of mentors early on. When I first started, I wasted a lot of time and money on the wrong mentors. Yes I got results, but they were very short lived. There was no concrete plan and the support given was close to non existent. I figured out a lot of things on my own. So yes, if given a chance I’d get the right mentor early on.

How do you unwind?
I’m quite the sweet tooth so I’m always trying out new desserts during my “cheat days.” When I’m not indulging however, I’m honing my skills as a pro wrestler at Grapple Max Dojo.

Favourite Asian destination for relaxation? Why?
Wow this simple question is a tough one! Most of my vacations have always been centred around the city. So I’m not really relaxing but I enjoy being on the go in a different environment.
For relaxation, I’d say it would have to be some of the islands around Malaysia. I love the resorts there. One that comes to mind is Perhentian Island. The crystal, clear waters and laid back lifestyle is really amazing.

Everyone in business should read this book:
Expert Secrets by Russell Brunson. This book helps business owners embrace the digital age and most importantly it shows you how to build a tribe of loyal clients who’d happily acquire your services. What I really like is how simply this book is written. The magic of this book is in the way it’s presented to the readers. Progressive and simple steps which are filled with loads of “ah-ha” moments.

Shameless plug for your business:
I help frustrated and clueless single guys get an overflow of dates with girls who are just their type with my proven method whilst still allowing them to be themselves.

This interview is part of the ‘Callum Connect’ series of more than 500 interviews

Callum Laing is an entrepreneur and investor based in Singapore. He has previously started, built and sold half a dozen businesses and is now a Partner at Unity-Group Private Equity and Co-Founder of The Marketing Group PLC. He is the author two best selling books ‘Progressive Partnerships’ and ‘Agglomerate’.